


In this lifetime or another

by chitownseo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Death, M/M, Never Have I Ever, Smoking, Time Travel, johnny travels through time to find doyoung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 14:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17664605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chitownseo/pseuds/chitownseo
Summary: “Doyoung...i promise you I'll find you, just please never forget me….i love you.”In which Johnny travels through time, living through lifetime after lifetime in hopes of finding the one where Doyoung lives to be past 21.





	In this lifetime or another

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda wanted to have this up before doie's birthday but then I remembered Johnny's is in a few days so it was perfect timing. Sorry for the typos and mistakes, and uh johndo lives!

Doyoung dreaded having to be up earlier than 10AM, but he promised Taeyong that he would help him with all his christmas shopping which meant he was dragging his body out of bed a bit after 8:30AM. His morning routine was always simple, shower first then brush his teeth maybe grab a bite to eat but he was sure that Taeyong and him would grab breakfast before tackling their extensive list of stores. He was ready shortly after, he always was quick to get ready for the day. He laid in his bed once more in hopes of dozing off until Taeyong was downstairs.

-

Of course he didn’t see it at first, he flipped from one side to another never finding a comfortable position. It was when he reached for his phone that his finger knocked something off of the bedside table. He reached for what he knocked over, quickly noting that it was a wallet sized picture. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at, in his hand was nothing more than a picture of himself next to a man. He’ll admit the man smiling next to him was stunning, however his eyes had never seen this man before. His phone rang for a third time before he answered. 

“Hello?” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so weak.

“Doyoung please tell me I didn’t just wake you and PLEASE tell me you are all set to go,” Taeyong joked with the younger male until he noticed the uncomfortable pause that followed. 

“ Is everything okay Doie?” At this point Taeyong was a bit worried about his friend. “ Hyung can you please come up for a second I have to show you something.” 

 

“Seriously doyoung you’ve never seen this man in your life, it seems like you know him pretty well, I mean you are in his arms...smiling brighter than I’ve seen you smile in like...ever!” Taeyong handed the picture back to his friend. 

“I promise, i mean i would remember a face like that… i mean I think I would.” They spent several minutes trying to recall the tall man with dark hair in the picture but nothing came up. Doyoung left the picture on the counter and decided to head out with Taeyoung. Somebody must be playing a prank on him or something that had to be it. 

-

The picture had long been forgotten, nobody ever stepped up to admit it was a prank so Doyoung pushed it to the furthest part of his memory. It was easy, and quite frankly being a college student was more important than trying to remember someone he swore he never met. 

It had been close to three weeks since the picture ended up on his night stand. Occasionally his mind remembered the beautiful man that held doyoung in his arms, but that was quickly shooed away. His winter break was coming to an end, so trying to sleep more than 8 hours was a good way to prepare him for the new semester that was to begin. 

Sleep was setting into his bones, under 2 blankets to keep him warm and a fluffy pillow for him to hold, sleep was only seconds away.

“Doyoung...i promise you I'll find you, just please never forget me….i love you.”

Doyoung was pulled from the arms of slumber, by a voice that certainly did not belong to him. He sat up, his heart pumping fast and hard against his chest. Whose voice was that...and why were they trying to find him. But...why would he forget someone that loved him? His feet carried him out of bed, he was tempted to call Taeyoung however he could already hear the string of “you've been watching too many scary movies,” or “maybe you're just stressed.” He laid back in bed, tossing and turning until he was finally able to sleep once again. 

-

 

“I can't wait for you guys to meet my friend, he lived in America I meet him in my chemistry class he’s so cool I’m sure you’ll like him right away,” Jaehyun dragged Doyoung and Taeyong to the cafe that was down the street from the campus. 

They were minutes away from the cafe when Jaehyun got a call, “hey man we’re around the corner now we’ll see you in a few.” 

They sat at a small round table near the window while Jaehyun ordered their drinks and went to find his friend. It wasn’t long after that Jaehyun was coming back with two drinks in his hands and a taller man tailing him with two drinks as well. 

“Green tea latte for doie hyung and a java chip frappe for tyongie hyung, guys this is Johnny he just moved here a week ago from Chicago.” Jaehyun waved his arms around Johnny as if he was a gift that was being presented. Taeyong reached out offering a handshake which the taller man accepted happily. 

“My name is Taeyong and this is Doyoung…” Taeyong turned to Doyoung expecting him to offer a handshake as well “...sorry our doie here isn’t the best with meeting new people.” Johnny stepped closer and offered his hand instead, which Doyoung hesitantly took. 

“Sorry you just....look like someone I’ve seen before, i’m Doyoung,” the taller man smiled at him before having a seat next to Jaehyun. “ So how is it living in Korea?” Taeyong began making conversation with the man from chicago, something about culture differences and food at least that’s what doyoung thinks. His mind couldn’t concentrate on the conversation going on, not when he was busy trying to figure out where he has seen this man before.

“Right Doyoung?” 

“Huh?”

“ Pay attention doie we’re talking about how your birthday is in a month, so we were thinking maybe like a night in just friends, of course you’re welcome to come if you want Johnny.” 

“ Right, my birthday yes please come it will be a small gathering but the more the merrier,” Taeyong eyed him suspiciously. “ I gotta use the little mens room, Jae come with me please.” Before Doyoung could protest, Taeyong had slipped away with Jaehyun at his side leaving him all alone with Johnny. 

“So uh… your birthday by chance how old are you turning?” the taller man looked nervous maybe he was imagining it but there was a slight tremor to his voice. 

“Twenty two, I’ll be turning twenty two.” 

Of course Doyoung noticed the way Johnny’s knuckles turned white from gripping the table so hard. 

“ I can’t believe it...Doyoung...after searching vast universes and different periods in time i finally found another one where you live past 21, I found you,” that’s when it all hit Doyoung he swore he felt the air leave his lungs. The picture and the voice he had heard in his head, it was all johnny, but how? Doyoung rushed to his feet feeling like the cafe was suddenly too warm and his mind too fuzzy. 

“Doie are you okay, hey…look at me,” Taeyong was at his side before he could make his way to the door. “Hyung it’s him, the guy in the picture it’s Jaehyun’s friend,” he held onto Taeyong’s arms tightly in fear of falling. 

“Wait what picture? Doyoung..please..what picture?” he didn’t give johnny any time to ask another question, he quickly fished his wallet out of his pocket and pulled the same wallet sized picture that had once appeared on his nightstand. Handing it to johnny, noticing the way Johnny’s face softened and a small smile appeared on his face. 

“We took this when we went to Paris for your birthday, you hated the crowd but you loved the way the stars danced in the sky.” 

“How is that possible, I’ve never been to Paris or Europe I have never left Korea,” he was confused, so confused. 

“Maybe not in this lifetime you haven’t,” all three of them looked at johnny. “ What do you mean not in this lifetime?” Taeyong now stood in front of Doyoung, shielding him from Johnny’s eyes. The taller man shifted his stance, “this might be a lot to take in, please come back to my place all of you.” 

-

Of course he knew it was unlogical to follow a man he just met to his home but he needed answers they all did. Surprisingly for a man that just moved to Korea, he had a very large home. 

“How are you college student but can afford a house this big?” Taeyong walked around the living area, Jaehyun quickly pulled him into the seat next to him. “Give me a few moments, I need to grab a few things.” Doyoung sat on the love seat across his friends, “ you know for someone who has pretty good judgement in friends Jaehyun sure surprised us this time.” They laughed awkwardly, the air was thick full of tension or maybe it was just Doyoung that felt nervous. 

-

Johnny walked back in with a few drinks in hand, as well as a large book presumably a photo album. “I got two teas for Taeyong and Doyoung and some banana milk for Jaehyun,” he placed everything down on the coffee table, taking a seat at the end of it and opening the book. “How do you know I like banana milk?” The older male just smiled and scanned through the pages of the book. 

“You might assume i’m on drugs or i don’t even know but in every lifetime your favorite drink has always been banana milk,” fishing out a photo from its sleeve and handing it over to Jaehyun. He stares at the picture, over and over and then some more. He saw a man that had his face but the photo was clearly much older than he was, and in his hand he held a tiny banana milk carton while standing next to Johnny. 

“I know I want to explain but it would probably be hard to believe so hopefully these pictures help you believe and understand me.” The second photo he fishes out is one of Taeyong, with natural black hair instead of the blond that he usually sports but still it was definitely Taeyong. The picture seemed to be in the 50’s, Johnny looking as young as always while Taeyong looked to be in his mid-forties. “So what is this are we all reincarnated or something?” Johnny stayed silent for a bit, he was nervous and Doyoung felt bad for making the not so stranger explain all that was going on. 

“I first meet you guys one hundred years ago, Jaehyun first then Taeyong and lastly Doyoung, we quickly became friends inseparable to be honest with you, but things turned wrong too fast so I asked god and all the stars to grant me a wish. Since then I’ve been traveling through different eras of time until I find the one where things didn’t go wrong.” 

“What do you mean by wrong?”

There was a deep sigh. “ The first time we fell in love, times were different we were both just young adults with the whole world ahead of us, we didn’t know any better but relationships like ours weren’t accepted back then.” Johnny looked away, and Doyoung so desperately wanted to make him look back at him. “The first time you passed away was at the age of 20 we had just moved into this house, although it was a lot smaller, we were so in love we even had a dog...but you passed away in an accident 2 months after.” Johnny blinked away the tears, forcing himself off the ground with a picture in his hands. 

Doyoung stared at it for as long as he could, the picture was old and fragile but johnny had taken perfect care of the picture. There stood a young johnny next to a young Doyoung. “But that still doesn’t explain what you said in the cafe,” Doyoung noticed how his hand was now being held by johnny but he wouldn’t dare pull his hand away. 

“The night that you passed I asked god to let me live again and again until I found a universe or time in which you and I would live happy forever...I woke up the next day still living without you, but the days passed and I never aged. I saw Jaehyun and Taeyong live a happy life together time after time my best friends always growing old with each other while I always lost the love of my life before he could turn 21.”

-

 

“Obviously this is too much to swallow at once and quite frankly I think Doyoung needs time to process everything that has been said today, come on doie we’ll take you home,” Taeyong stood up quickly reaching towards his friend.

“No.”

Taeyong blinked, surprised by the response that he received, “what do you mean no doie?” Jaehyun stood up, grabbing the older male, “ hyung maybe we should let them talk more this isn’t news to take lightly.” Doyoung nodded, he had already heard so much and he wasn’t ready to leave until he heard all of it. 

-

To any sane person, spending time with a man that claimed has loved you for a hundred years is kind of well, insane but that is exactly what Doyoung had done. The clock was bright, blaring that it was the next day. 

“So after all of these so called years, why me?”

Johnny chuckled, “I could ask you the same thing, the first time around you were the one that found me.” Doyoung didn’t understand how Johnny could so easily flush his body warm, how he knew that the smallest gestures like the way he always rubbed his thumb across Doyoung’s knuckles when he began to get anxious or how he knew that Doyoung loved his tea with just a bit of honey not too sweet. “I’ve loved you for one hundred years.” There it was. 

-

“Johnny I’m two weeks from turning twenty two I think we are fine, this time it’s forever,” Doyoung currently sat in Johnny’s lap both of them doing homework while Taeyong and Jaehyun sat across the room fiddling with a project. 

“I hate bringing up the past but want to know about our trip to Paris?” 

-

“I proposed to you while in France, we had gone as a birthday gift for you I thought finally this time I would be with you until the end, you were in school to become a nurse…” Doyoung noticed how Johnny’s voice was shaky and it scared him “...you were already such a nurse always telling me to quit smoking cause I would get cancer.” 

Johnny shifted in his seat, shifting Doyoung so that he was able to look into his eyes. “We decided to go to France before your birthday since you were already 21 we thought that was it, we’d found the lifetime in which we grew old together.”

“I proposed on our last night when the stars danced above us, surely nothing could have gone wrong…” at this point Doyoung chewed at his lip nervously, “...once we got back you developed this cough it started small but gradually it got worse and worse until two days before your birthday you passed away from lung cancer.” 

“How is that possible I was already twenty-one, Johnny I was already twenty- one, days away from being twenty-two how did that happen?” Taeyong and Jaehyun were by Doyoung’s side within seconds. “I wish I knew Doyoung but that time I was so lost we were so close, that’s why I took longer to find you in this lifetime it felt like the first time all over again and I-I just wasn’t ready to face my reality, our reality.” 

“Are you prepared?” 

Taeyong wanted desperately to butt in but Jaehyun held him back. “What are you insinuating doie?” 

“What if this is just another lifetime in which I die at the age of twenty-one before I turn twenty-two,” Doyoung wants to scream, but he can’t his mouth stays shut all he can do is fall into Johnny’s arms and hide his face in his chest, a chest that so quickly became his favorite thing to sleep on. 

“I’ll never be prepared to lose you, each time hurts just as much if not more than last time but I’ll find you again no matter what even if that means one hundred years more.” Johnny rocked him in his arms, a place that has come to feel more like home than his house ever could. In reality, despite his words Doyoung knew the question was for himself. Was he ready to lose Johnny again? Was he ready to leave Johnny once more?

-

Living with your days potentially numbered was quite tiring, that’s what Doyoung came to find out. Of course Taeyong and Jaehyun constantly wanted to spend the day with him, they practically had to separate Doyoung from Johnny. It was currently 4 days til his birthday and Taeyong had baked him a small cake, with tears in his eyes Taeyong placed it in front of him. “If anything happens and you don’t make it to your birthday, I wanted you to know that you were like the little brother that I always wanted.” 

Doyoung held his hyung in his arms, occasionally wiping away any stray tears, “ shhh hyung I’m still here there’s no point in crying.” That’s what Doyoung always said once Taeyong or Jaehyung became too emotional. 

-

He hated how emotional he was or maybe how calm Johnny appeared to be. He laid in bed and quickly sent out a message to his friends. 

“ As you guys know, it’s the 31st and well I don’t have to say much about that. There’s a chance I’ll die in my sleep tonight and that I won’t make it to twenty-two, if that happens please be happy. Tell my parents and my brother that I loved them more than anything, and that they gave me the best life anyone could ask for. You guys were my everything growing up and I can never thank you guys enough for all the memories. And lastly, please don’t let Johnny go through this alone. With love~ Your doie!” 

-

 

“Johnny your heart is beating too fast I can’t fall asleep,” Doyoung kept his eyes closed and his head on Johnny’s chest. They laid in Johnny’s bed, in the house that Doyoung had picked out with Johnny years ago. Doyoung had claimed that there was no better place to be, than in his home with Johnny. It would be cruel to die in the house that Johnny would live in for the end of time but he couldn’t bare to leave his home. 

“Sorry my love I’m just nervous,” so was Doyoung he knew better than to assume Johnny would handle this any better. “ Can you tell me about another time when we fell in love?” Johnny chuckled at the request, running his fingers through Doyoung’s hair. 

“The 50’s were tough times, too many bad things going on but somewhere in the middle of bad times I found my beautiful black haired pin up doie, and you met your handsome biker Johnny,” Johnny kept telling the story despite Doyoung’s eyes having closed, he felt the younger male relax in his arms. Despite his fear of the worst he kept telling his story until sleep took over him as well. 

-

“Taeyong! Taeyong I can’t say too much just get here please! Now! Bring Jae, just get here!”

-

Doyoung hated being up earlier than 10AM, however this time when he woke up February 1st at 7:48AM with Johnny’s ear to his chest and tears running down his face, he decided it was okay to be up early. 

“Happy twenty two years of being alive baby boy,” it was hard for Johnny to choke out but he did it with the biggest smile on his face. 

 

-

Fin.

-

Bonus:

 

“Can I ask you a question babe?” Doyoung looked up at his boyfriend, johnny nodded. “Why did I find the picture on my nightstand and hear your voice before we met?” Johnny smiled, Doyoung could tell it was nostalgia but Johnny quickly snapped out of it. “It was after Paris, I had just lost you again. I was in so much pain, so I asked the stars to help me out once more. To give me a sign or anything that I should keep searching for you.”

“But that still doesn’t explain it, how did the picture end up on my nightstand?” 

“I can’t explain it but I woke up one day the year was 2018 in Chicago and a picture of you laid next to me on my hotel room bed, days later I heard your voice in my head…” johnny’s nose scrunched and a grin broke out on his face “...I heard your voice.”

“What did I say?”

“God if you’re out there can you please send my soulmate my way already I’m tired of third wheeling Tae and Jae.” Doyoung turned rosey red.

“That was my sign to search for you again, until I found our forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> SO in case anyone is confused johnny stayed 23 forever until he found the lifetime in which he would be with doyoung forever, once he found it he will age as usual and grow old with doie uwu they will get another dog and live happily ever after 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, if you want to scream at me or sumn my twitter is @ chitownseo
> 
> toodle doodles ^^


End file.
